JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure - The RPG v1.3 // Follow on Twitter for updates and whatever // Put together by SB.

This tabletop RPG system is aimed at giving players the experience of building and enjoying their own JoJo stories, with the guidance of a Game Master, or GM. A group of players, ideally two to six, will take on a campaign involving combat against a series of enemies, likely Stand Users, in dense, detailed battles that take more than brute strength to win. It’s obviously based on JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and though familiarity with the series will help, these rules can be understood by people who’ve never read or watched it, and contain no unmarked spoilers. I’ve kept the amount of crunch as low as possible in the interests of giving people freedom to approach things how they want, which is why this should stay a fairly small document. Because of this, a GM who wants to run a game will want to be able to think on their feet, and plan for a large variety of circumstances. In order to make it easier for you, there’s a document set up with a variety of examples, such as Stands, Stand Users, Conditions, and even campaigns, that can be used in your games, or just for inspiration. My aim is to keep the system as light as possible, but the first attempt at this document was pretty lacking. I’ve since added a few systems that should add more easily understandable risks to reckless attitudes, while broadening the applications for lesser-used Stats. It’s still light, but if that’s not what you’re after, feel free to implement some house rules, send in your feedback, or check out a different system. Like in the series, the complexity and depth should arise from the Stands that you create, as well as the scenario the players are placed in by the GM. If you want to try running a game, all you’ll need is this document, the character sheet, at least six d20s and a couple of 7-dice sets. Digital dice rolling is, of course, fine too.

- To print anything, just hit the printer icon. - To download it onto your computer, click ‘File’, then ‘Download as’ - To put it in your own Google Drive, click ‘File’, then ‘Make copy’

For the purposes of this document, Joanna Joestar and her Stand ‘Knock on Wood’ will be used for italicized examples . It has the power to magnetize organic objects. There’s also a character sheet up for her in the associated document. If you’re interested in playing as or using non-Stand elements of the series, such as the Ripple, Vampires or Pillar Men, check out the expansion, Paranormal Beings and Battle Techniques. Lastly, if you have any feedback or questions, you can contact me at jjba.the.rpg@gmail.com , or at @JojosBizarreRPG on Twitter. Thanks to Jojo’s Colored Adventure for any of the manga panels used in this.

Links & Tables (For Quick Reference) Paranormal Beings & Battle Techniques (Expansion)

Character Sheet // Examples // Changelog // Twitter Other JoJo RPGs // The Anime // The Manga // The Wiki

An Introduction to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

If you’re familiar with the series, you probably know what I’m about to cover, so feel free to skip this section and jump straight to the next, which is where the mechanics start. If you’re not familiar, this will give you the basics. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a long-running (since 1986) manga series from Hirohiko Araki about the Joestar bloodline, and the various supernatural trials they face. It’s split into eight parts the eighth of which is currently ongoing, each one featuring a different main character, often in a different part of the world, starting with Phantom Blood, set in England at the end of the 19th century. It began as a gothic, soap opera Fist of the North Star, but by the time the second part, Battle Tendency, got started, the fights had developed into elaborate setpieces that showcased intellect just as much as the unusual abilities of its characters. This style would be defined by the introduction of Stands in the third part, Stardust Crusaders, a story arc that would give the series some international popularity. A Stand is the personification of a character’s fighting spirit, designed to act as a physical representation of psychic powers. Their elaborate visual design and specific abilities meant that battles between them were often complex and interesting. Though it took effectively the first half of Stardust Crusaders to really establish how Stands could work (though, any established rule is occasionally broken throughout the series’ lifetime), they’ve proved an enduring image in manga history, especially Star Platinum. This image is mostly commonly that of a humanoid figure, standing beside its user, with an unusual design and abilities informed by the user’s personality and desires. Despite enduring popularity in Japan, there’s only been a significant Western release for Part III in manga form, until recently. Two key releases can be pinpointed for bursts in popularity; namely, the late 90s fighting game, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future, based on characters and events from Stardust Crusaders, and most recently, the very well received anime that started in 2012, taking the previously unattempted route of starting with Phantom Blood and proceeding through the entire series. Here’s a largely plot-removed (dubbed) clip, to give you a brief feel for it. If you’d like to check out the series, you can start with Part 1 on bato.to, or through obtaining copies of the recent hardcover release from Viz. The anime is widely regarded as an excellent adaptation and show in its own right, and can be found on Crunchyroll, amongst other places. It’s recommended that you at least get up to Stardust Crusaders, to get a feel for how Stands

work. Before you ask - no, it’s not a good idea to skip parts. Probably avoid the Wiki for now, too. Though the series is built on characters, most of the actions they take (and most of the actions that will be performed in this RPG) are done using their Stands, and most conflicts will be fought against enemy Stand users. This is often more interesting than having the characters fight, as Stands are usually stronger, faster, and tougher than their users, and their unique abilities allow for unexpected advantages over an unsuspecting opponent. A user typically has total control over their Stand, but this comes at the cost of sharing any received injuries with it, something that a Stand user will need to be careful to manage. As durable as they can be, sending a Stand headfirst into the unknown can be a quick way to wind up severely injured, given that other Stands may be stronger, or more prepared, than yours. Knowledge is a large part of the battle in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and the players will need to be wary of GMs that are willing to put their characters to the test. In addition to their unique abilities, of which each Stand will likely only have one or two, their strengths and weaknesses are also measured in six Stats: Power, Durability, Speed, Precision, Range, and Potential. The names are generally self-explanatory, but there’ll be more detail later on. These Stats are ranked from E to A, that being worst to best, with the occasional None, depending on the Stand, or the rare Infinite. An A-rank, and even a B-rank, are far beyond human potential, with Stands shown to be capable of catching bullets, or punching hundreds of times within seconds.

As an example, this is Crazy Diamond, the Stand of Josuke Higashikata, protagonist of Part IV. It has the ability to restore items to their original State; generally speaking, it fixes things. This is representative of his underlying kind nature, and strong desire to defend those close to him. It also has an A-rank in Power and Speed, while only a D in Range, meaning that it excels at close combat. Most importantly, its ability has very broad applications. Obviously, it can heal allies, and break down walls, but there are many examples of more complicated uses. It’s ‘fixed’ a piece of clothing in order to track the person wearing the jacket, with the broken piece flying towards the point of origin. It’s punched clean through a person in order to retrieve a Stand that had crawled into their stomach, fixed the wound as the first was retrieved, and left the formerly injured party none the wiser.

These are the sorts of events that this RPG is meant to facilitate. If that sounds like your cup of tea, check out JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure if you haven’t already. The anime is usually a good place to start. That’ll give you a good idea of how Stands work, and possibly some ideas for your own, if this document doesn’t.

Playing The Game JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure - The RPG is heavily focused on collaborative storytelling, more than it is about total randomness or strict, highly detailed rulesets. It’s intended to provide the experience of coming up with your own JoJo-styled story, though what this means varies from person to person. Some people are heavily invested in creating a character and building a narrative for them. Others just want to punch stuff. In the interests of appealing to all kinds of players and keeping things flowing at an even pace, the game’s mechanics are generally designed to model physically demanding events, like combat encounters. That said, Stands have very broad applications, and there’s no distinct separation between combat and anything else, so any sort of event can be modelled with a Roll or Contest in the relevant Stat.

Rolling Rolling in this RPG is generally kept to strenuous events. As such, things like dialogue or basic adventuring shouldn’t need rolls. You’ll need two distinct groups of dice:

- At least six d20s. These will be used to represent your Stand’s actions.

- At least two of each of the following: d4, d6, d8, d10 and d12. These will largely be used for Contests, which are rolls taken directly against something that can roll back. Most d10s read from 0 to 9, so if this is the case with yours, treat a result of 0 as a 10.

You roll based on four Stats: Power, Durability, Speed or Precision. Any Action you want to perform will be assigned to a Stat by the GM. For example, if you’re about to be hit by a runaway car, and would like to use your Stand to take the hit, you’d use its Durability Stat. However, the same situation could be approached with any other Stat. Dodging the car could involve jumping out of the way, which would be a Speed roll, or you could punch it harder than it can hit you, which would count as a Power roll. It’s important to note that the GM does have final approval.

GM Note : If you’re having trouble determining what Stat to go with, it can help to think of what the character is trying to accomplish. If someone wants to beat down a door, it’d probably use Power, but

if they want to do it quickly, that might be a Speed roll.

Some actions are generally restricted to specific Stats. The use of any projectiles will most likely use Precision, and any sort of quick movement will likely also use Speed. Additionally, using an Ability is functionally the same as anything else done with a Stand. Using a Stand’s Ability is often as natural to a Stand User as moving it, so there’s no need to treat them like a special skill, or something with limited usage. They do not always have to be rolled for.

Example : Joanna Joestar is on the roof of a building, and needs to get to the ground. She could:

- Use Speed to jump from the roof and bounce off each wall on the way down. - Use Durability to jump from the roof and use her Stand to absorb the landing. - Use Precision to look around and find a drainpipe, then another to slide down it. - Use Power to punch through the floors of the building.

Once you’ve established an Action that you’d like to perform, and the Stat that you’ll be using, you’ll roll to determine how successful you were. The specific dice you roll is dependent on the rank in the Stat that you’re using, according to the following. This is true for any variety of roll made that’s dependent on a Stat, unless a Condition directly affects it. In all cases, this combination of dice is called the Action Roll. Ordinary humans (and other ordinary non-Stand beings) are considered to be a D-rank for any rolls made by or targeting them. Alternatively, if you’re looking for more accurate representation of different non-Stand entities, then you can use the expansion, Paranormal Beings & Battle Techniques , which outlines rules for creatures above and below ‘ordinary humans’.

A Roll 3 d20, and take the highest result.

B Roll 2 d20, and take the highest result.

C Roll 1 d20.

D Roll 2 d20, and take the lowest result.

E Roll 3 d20, and take the lowest result.

Once your result is adjusted based on any Conditions, Techniques, Goals, or Impulses, this is called an ‘adjusted roll’, and is compared to the following table.

0 and less 1 - 5 6 - 10 11 - 15 16 - 20 21 +

Critical Failure

Definite Failure

Moderate Failure

Moderate Success

Definite Success

Critical Success

A Failure means that you failed at the Action you were trying to complete, and a Success means that you succeeded. However, there are three types of success or failure; A Definite result is simply failing or succeeding at the Action. Very little happens that wasn’t a direct consequence of the Action, and things proceed about as expected. A Moderate result, on the other hand, is close to a lesser version of the result that you achieved, whether failure or success. A Moderate Success might mean the Action is completed, but something related goes wrong, or the final result is not as beneficial as it might have seemed. A Moderate Failure might still result in a worse position or incomplete Action, but there may be an unexpected benefit to the new situation, or some other mitigating factor. In terms of storytelling, you can think of it as “You succeed/fail, but…”

GM Note : Use these as a way to keep an encounter going. JoJo encounters are about more than just the characters’ abilities. These can help you control the situation.

A Critical result is typically exceptional, in some way. A Success might result in knocking an opponent down, or finding something particularly helpful after punching them through a wall. Similarly, a Failure could be especially disastrous. You might break through the same wall, only to find it’s load-bearing, and bring the ceiling down on your head. It’s important to note that the result might not be the best or worst possible at the time - rather, the situation is in some way enhanced, or made more severe. This could be thought of as “You succeed/fail, and…”

Example : Joanna Joestar wants to break down a door using her Stand, Knock on Wood, which has a Power Stat of B. She rolls 2d20, and the highest result is 13, meaning the Action is a Moderate Success. The GM decides that the door swings open, but the occupant of the room is alerted, and angry. Had she achieved a Definite Success, the room might’ve been empty. A Failure would’ve left the door unopened.

Pushes A Push is given to a player when they roll an unadjusted 10 on an Action roll, and during certain other conditions. This can be spent after any single failed Action Roll in order to immediately perform another Action. The new Action must be different to the one that just failed, though it may have the same goal; this is subject to GM approval. If the failed Action was part of a Contest, then the other character can change their Action if they choose. Actions that are part of a Clash cannot be changed by a Push; instead, the Clash Meter will be refilled.

Characters can store up to three Pushes at once. Generic ‘tokens’, such as coins, scraps of paper, or poker chips should be used to keep track of available Pushes.

Example : Joanna fails an attempt at using Speed to jump from one building to another; spending one Push, she changes her strategy to using Precision to reach for a windowsill.

Contests If a player wishes to perform an Action on another Stand User, and that User wants to prevent that with an Action of their own, the mechanics play out differently. In these situations, the Attacking player rolls against a Defender’s Contest Die, to see if their attack lands. Then, the Defender rolls their own counter Action to see if they can successfully retaliate. To start the process, both parties choose their Actions, and the Stats they’ll use; whatever they are, they must come into conflict with each other. Completing one needs to prevent the other to some degree, though this can include deflecting or reducing the impact of an Action as well. The first roll, made by the defending player, is made with their Contest Die, which is based on the Stat they’ll be using to defend themselves.

A d12

B d10

C d8

D d6

E d4

There are some cases in which a defender is Unprepared for an attack, whether due to being caught off-guard, staggered due to pain, the effect of a Stand, or various other reasons. Here, the Contest die is not rolled, and the attacking player is incapable of failing their Roll. This State will typically only last until the next Action, and only applies to situations where the defender is capable of performing a counter Action; if they cannot, then the attack is made as an Action. This Contest Die roll then acts as a target for the attacking player to beat with their Action Roll. The attacker’s Roll is made as normal, and adjusted based on Techniques, Conditions, Goals or Impulses, but the Contest Die is not adjusted.

- If the Action Roll is lower than the Contest Die, then the Action has failed. This could mean the Action has missed its target, or been blocked with little

effort. Whatever the justification, the defending player now has the option of taking an immediate Action against the attacker.

- If the Action Roll is equal to or higher than the Contest Die, then the attack

lands, and the defender rolls for their Counter Action. The Action Roll made by the attacking player is now the target for the defending player’s Action. Their Action is also performed as normal, and adjusted based on Techniques, Conditions, Goals or Impulses. Additionally, the value of the Contest Die is added to the final Action Roll. This total is then compared to the Attacking Action Roll.

- If the defender’s Roll is lower than the attacker’s, then the Counter Action has failed, and the attacker’s Action is unhindered.

- If the defender’s Roll is equal to or higher than the attacker’s, then the

Counter Action has succeeded. The situation is effectively reset to neutral. From their either player can chose to Act, or Interrupt the other.

In short, the attacking player rolls an Action Roll against the defending player’s Contest Die. Then, the defender rolls their own Action Roll against the one the attacker made. From there, either the attacker or defender will beat their opponents Action, or they will cancel each other out.

Example : Joanna Joestar wishes to attack Bonnie Tyler using her Stand’s Power rank of B. Bonnie chooses to block the attack using her Stand, Total Eclipse, which would use the Durability rank of C. The two enter a Contest. Bonnie’s Contest d8 results in a 5, which Joanna exceeds with an Action Roll of 13, making her Action connect. Bonnie’s attempt at Countering results in a 12; adding the Contest Die to this gives her 17, meaning that she has successfully countered Joanna’s attack.

Clashes A Clash is reserved for when an attacking Action is countered with another. They act as a series of Action rolls, representing attacks clashing with each other. In addition to the standard Action rolls, each player will also receive a Contest die, acting as a Clash Meter. This Meter starts out set to the highest value on the die, and shows how much stamina each character has left. When it is depleted, the character is unable to continue attacking, and will bear their opponent’s attack. Action Rolls are made simultaneously, according to the normal Stats. The goal is to exceed your opponent's Action roll, enough times to weaken them down. At the end of each Roll, after adjustments, each player’s Clash

Meter is reduced according to the highest one of the following:

- By 1 after every roll. - By 2 if one’s total roll is exceeded by the opponent’s Action roll - By 4 if one’s total roll is exceeded by the opponent’s Clash meter.

When the value of a character’s Clash Meter reaches 0 or below, they have lost the Clash, and they take the force of the opponent’s attack. This can apply to both characters at once.

Example : Joanna Joestar and Bonnie Tyler test their Stand’s Power directly against each other, each having a B-rank. Their Clash Meters are set to 10. Joanna rolls a 14, and Bonnie a 6. Joanna examines her roll.

- Since Joanna has exceeded both her opponent’s roll and Meter, she only reduces her Meter by 1.

- Bonnie has not exceeded Joanna’s Meter of 10, and reduces hers by 4.

The next rolls are 7 for Joanna and 17 for Bonnie. - Joanna has barely exceeded Bonnie’s Clash Meter, but her roll has not

exceeded Bonnie’s Meter-less roll. She takes 2 from her Meter. - Bonnie has cleared Joanna’s roll easily, so she only drops her Meter by 1.

Characters can refill their Clash Meter, but only twice in a single Clash, immediately before the simultaneous rolls. Each refill costs a single Push, and the second instance is less effective.

- The first time will refill up to half of the Meter. - The second time will only refill the meter to a quarter, rounded down to the

nearest whole number. The other way out of a Clash is to Break it. A Clash Break is any Action that prevents the opponent’s attack from landing, and is declared and rolled in place of the two simultaneous rolls, costing one Push. The opponent’s current Clash Meter is applied as a penalty to this Action, and if it fails, the person attempting the Break takes the Clash attack.

Example : Bonnie doesn’t feel too confident heading into a Stand Clash, due to an injury on her arm. Instead of rolling again, she could decide to:

- Dodge away from the attacks, using her Speed rank. This would prevent her from being hit by Joanne’s attack.

- Aim a kick to try and deal some damage to Joanne. As she’s not addressing the attacks, she’ll still be hit if it’s a success or not.

She opts for the dodge, but isn’t successful. Joanne’s hit lands, and the Clash ends.

Turn Order Though it isn’t determined by any kind of initiative or Speed rank, this RPG does feature a light turn order system. Each player can only perform one Action until every player has had the opportunity to, with Contest Die rolls being used to resolve any disputes over the order. During periods of intense play, every character is represented by a token, card, or similar. Characters can choose to Act whenever they like, but whenever an Action is initiated by that character, the token is given to the GM. The player cannot start any Actions, Contests, or Clashes until they get their token back, but they can perform counter Actions as the target of a Contest. When every character has turned in their token, all tokens are returned to all characters. This is called a Beat. Additionally, characters do not have to Act; tokens will be returned when none of the remaining characters want to. Counter Acting as part of a Contest or Clash does not use the token. Beats can be used as a measure of a short period of time, which is useful for Conditions that have durations, or things that occur repeatedly. There’s no specific parallel to real-time; it’s around 10 seconds. These are used for Stand effects, as well as rapid regeneration. If multiple characters want to Act at the same time, the conflict is resolved by having all characters involved roll the Contest Die used for their Speed Stat. Whoever has the highest result moves immediately, and any ties are resolved by rerolls from the players who tied. This result only counts for one Action; if the next Action has a similar conflict, another roll is made.

Example : Bonnie is attempting to destroy an expensive car that Joanne is fond of. In the interests of stopping her, Joanne decides she’d like to Act first. The two roll their Contest Dies; Bonnie rolls a 6, and Joanne an 8. Joanne gets to move first, so she chooses to charge Bonnie, and turns in her token.

Range & Movement

A Stand’s Range defines how far it can move from the User. There are no specific rules about placement; positioning mechanics in this RPG are only about the distance between two objects. There are three different Range bands that any two objects can be from one another: Close (within 10 metres), Mid (within 40 metres), and Long (within 100 metres). Here’s how the different ranks of Range work with these bands.

Max. Distance Interruption Distance

A Long Long

B Mid Long

C Mid Mid

D Close Mid

E Close Close

A Stand can only perform Actions within its Maximum Range. This includes Stand-generated projectiles, but does not include projectiles made from non-Stand objects, like bullets or anything thrown. The Interruption Distance is similar; when an object is retreating to this distance relative to a Stand User, their Stand can perform an Interruption on that movement, despite it being outside the Maximum Range. Moving between Distance bands is done instead of a single Action, and characters can only move one band at a time. However, if a character wants to perform an Action immediately after moving a band, they are required to make a Speed Roll to see if they can do so before anyone else has a chance to act. Example : Bonnie Tyler is attempting to flee, and wishes to retreat from Close to Mid Range. However, Joanne isn’t finished with her yet. Although her Stand is ranked D for Range, and can usually only act on Close Range targets, she is able to attempt an Interruption at Bonnie’s Action. They enter a Speed Contest, and Bonnie is the victor. She is now at Mid-Range relative to Joanne, and therefore outside of her Maximum Distance. If Joanne wants to continue her attack, she will need to succeed at a Speed Roll.

An important thing to note as that humanoid, body-bound Stands can have their Stats used for defensive rolls that target their User, but only while they are Close to the User.

GM Note : In the interests of making all aspects of a Stand relevant to the gameplay, I’ve decided to include rules concerning Range. If this isn’t detailed enough for you, feel free to draft up some house

rules about movement as an Action, or specific units of distance. As with most other things, this RPG will opt for a simpler mechanic, in the hope that it is broadly applicable and quick to work with.

Conditions Conditions are used in this system to represent anything that affects a character’s performance, positive or negative. They can affect any mechanic, or part of the narrative, but are usually used to affect the results of rolls. Broadly speaking, they’re akin to Status effects, and can be used to model a very large variety of situations and Stand Abilities. To help with this, Conditions can also have a Value, which is simply a number recorded alongside the Condition, indicating a ‘stack’, or potency, of that Condition.

Example : - [Blinded] : Precision is unusable until the next Beat, and the character will be

Unprepared for any Contests. - [Magnetized] 2 : Resisting the effects requires a Power roll to succeed before any

Action can take place, to represent the character’s body fighting the magnetic force. This may apply a penalty based on proximity based on Range relative to the magnetized object.

Many more examples of Conditions can be found in the Examples document. Given the fact that a Stand and its User are connected, the majority of Conditions that apply to one will apply to the other. Injuries, forced movements (being restrained ) and unusual Stand effects (such as being weighed down ) will almost certainly carry over, but any Conditions relating to involuntary movements on the User’s part (reflexive movements, i.e. closing one's eyes when they are irritated ) do not carry over, nor will speech impediments.

GM Note : You’re not required to tell the player the effect of Conditions, or whether or not a Condition has been applied at all. This depends on how your specific group of players wants to

approach the metagame. Since the flow of information is such an important part of the series’ conflicts, it can be a lot of fun to treat that flow as something the players have to work out.

Damage The damage a Stand can do is directly linked to its Power Stat. This doesn’t mean that only Power-based Actions can cause damage; a Damage Roll is made any time a character would deal damage with an attack. It’s performed with the Power Stat, in the same way as an Action. The results are compared to the table below, but if the Action that caused damage didn’t use the Power Stat, then the result is halved, and rounded down.

0 and less 1 - 5 6 - 10 11 - 15 16 - 20 21 +

0 points 1 point 2 points 5 points 7 points 8 points

0 and 8 are the minimum and maximum values that a single instance of damage can provide. Once the roll is complete, a flat amount is subtracted from the result of that roll, based on the target’s Durability.

Damage Reduction

A Remove 5 points.

B Remove 3 points.

C Remove 1 point.

D 0 points.

E Add 1 point.

The points of damage are applied to the target character as a Damage Condition. This is a Condition that represents injury, with the total amount of damage being used for the value of that Condition. Individual Damage Conditions can, and should be used to split up injuries by location, with each Condition’s Value corresponding to the severity of an individual injury. This way, the points for each attack can be spread across multiple injuries, or applied onto a single target as appropriate for the source of the damage.

Example : Joanna lands a hit on Bonnie’s Stand. She makes a Power roll to determine the damage, which ends up being 13, meaning it’s a 5 damage hit. As the recipient has a B in Durability, it only takes 2. Bonnie receives the ‘[DC: Right Shoulder] 2’ Condition

The value of a Damage Condition can range from 1 to 7. Additionally, the [Nulled], [Bleeding Out] and [Exhausted] Conditions fall into this category.

A [Nulled] Condition is given when a Damage Condition reaches a Value of 8, and means that the injured body part is either damaged beyond conceivable use, or removed entirely. As such, it cannot be used in any Actions. These body parts can be restored, replaced, or reattached, allowing for rolls to be made again. Otherwise, a clean separation can heal the wound without restoring the body part, removing the value of the Condition, but not the Condition itself. The [Bleeding Out] Condition is applied any time a [Nulled] Condition is, starting at a Value of 1. For every Beat where the [Nulled] Condition is not healed, the Value of [Bleeding Out] increases by 1. Lastly, the [Exhausted] Condition can be used to suggest the loss of stamina, with the Value typically increasing as a character becomes more and more tired. The Value of a Damage Condition is applied as a penalty to any Actions using the body part it is attached to. This is to represent the effects of the injury; using an injured limb to block an attack is going to be harder if it’s broken. The total value of all Damage Conditions is used to calculate an Injury Rank, which measures how close a character is to being Retired, or dead. The Injury Rank is the total Value of all Damage Conditions, halved and rounded down. It’s applied as a penalty to all Actions performed, to represent the effects of pain.

- At an Injury Rank of 5, a character receives a Push, once per encounter.

- At an Injury Rank of 10, a character will be Retired. They are unconscious, or otherwise totally incapable of more than very basic Actions, i.e. talking. This lasts until they are revived, which can only occur once the injury rank is below 20, or automatically after a few hours.

- At any Injury Rank of 20, a character is deceased. The last affected Damage

Condition must be [Bleeding Out] or valued at least 4 for the character to die. The Injury Rank cannot be raised above 20.

Example : Bonnie has continued to take hits from Joanna, and things aren’t looking good. She has Conditions on her [DC: Right Arm] (6), her [DC: Left Arm] (4) her [DC: Torso] (5), and her [DC: Face] (3). The total Value of these Conditions is 18, so her Injury Rank is 9. Joanne starts another Contest. After successfully landing a hit, Joanne’s 7 damage is reduced by 3 thanks to Bonnie’s Durability, striking her [DC: Chest] (4). This tips the Injury Rank to 10, meaning she is Retired.

Damage Conditions valued at 5 or below are capable of passive healing. Every few hours outside of strenuous activity, these are reduced by two points each. Of course, first aid is an option, as are Stands with healing abilities. As enemy Stand Users tend to strike without warning, it’s wise to ensure that player characters stay healthy.

Precision Precision can be used for more than just precise movements, or projectiles. It can also be used to have a character search the surroundings, or detect hazards. This is represented as an Action roll, taken in secret by the GM at a players’ request. The results of this roll correspond to the following:

- Definite failure: The result you get probably won’t be very useful.

- Moderate failure: You won’t find what you’re looking for, but you should find something helpful.

- Moderate success: You might find at least a hint what you’re looking for, but there may be clutter.

- Definite success: You’ll likely find what you’re looking for.

Example : Bonnie retreats through a narrow corridor, under the effect of Joanna’s Stand, meaning her arm is magnetized. She makes a Precision roll as she runs, but as the roll fails, she doesn’t realize in time that a section of the wall has been affected by Joanna’s Stand as well, pulling her arm to it.

GM Note : Precision rolls can be used to direct your players in the direction you’d like them to go in, or to otherwise give your players a chance to be wary of traps and surprise attacks.

Stands with Multiple Entities

GM Note : These rules are highly tentative, until I can come up with something better. Some Stands are made up of multiple entities, while still forming a single Stand. These Stands function slightly differently in regards to rolls. For one, each entity can effectively be used to perform separate Actions per turn. However, the amount of entities used will affect the Rank that is used for the roll. For every quarter (rounded half down) of the total amount of entities that isn’t used, reduce the rank rolled at by one. E is still the lowest Rank that can be used.

Example : Soul Love, a Stand with 7 entities and a Power Rank of B, wants to roll to lift a heavy object. A quarter of 7, rounded to the nearest whole number, is 2, so he has to use 6 or more entities in order to roll at a B Rank. Using 4 or 5 will mean he has to roll at a C, 2 or 3 would be a D, etc.

Stands with very large amounts of entities (9 or more) can simply have the portion size described, e.g. “I use half of my Stand for this Action”. Whatever portion is used, any Action performed against it will affect that entire portion. Dispersing a Stand can be performed as an Action. Taking damage on a Stand with multiple entities works in a similar way. When a Damage Condition is applied to a Stand entity, the contribution to the Injury Rank is reduced by the amount of entities that make up the Stand. This can be recorded as ‘[DC (Location)] Val. - # of entities ’. The value of a Damage Condition cannot be negative, but if the number of entities is great enough, then the contribution to the Injury Rank can be reduced to 0.

Example : Soul Love takes a hit, with a Damage Condition of 5. The Condition is applied to the Stand, but the Injury Rank is only increased by 1. This is shown on the character sheet as [DC (Stand)] 5 - 7.

GM Note : A ‘Swarm’ Stand typically has more entities than can be reasonably counted. As such, referring vaguely to portions of the Swarm in quarters is recommended over counting specifics.

Miscellaneous Stand Mechanics Most non-object Stands can be Withdrawn, which means they aren’t being actively manifested. This can be performed at any time, but the Stand will be unavailable for the next immediate Action. After that point, they count as Close to the User, and bringing out that Stand doesn’t require any additional effort. A Stand shares its senses with its User, if they have the features necessary. A User will see what their Stand sees, but not if it doesn’t have eyes. What ‘eyes’ are exactly is not strictly defined, but some sort of approximation will be necessary. Stand Users are also capable of communicating with each other through telepathy, if necessary. This is seemingly independent of whether or not the Stand is humanoid or sentient.

Your Character The character sheet for this RPG can be found here.

Characters in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are a lot closer to the mechanics that dictate its action than in many similar series. Their dynamic personalities are not only expressed through their Actions, but also the nature of their Stands. A Stand is born from desires, and the drive to achieve those desires. The Abilities they have are often something that is suited to those ends.

Rules of Stands Stands in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure generally follow three key rules. Some of these have been canonically contradicted, so don’t feel too attached to them, but the vast majority of Stands should be designed following them.

- One Stand per person (though Stands can have multiple bodies, or forms) - Stands are bound to something, most commonly the User's body. When that object is

damaged, so is the Stand, and vice versa. - Stands can only be seen by other Stand Users.

Stands also have their capabilities codified into the following six Stats.

- Power: Your Stand’s destructive capability. Many know this as how well a Stand can punch, but it also covers destruction caused by any projectiles or abilities, as well as the generation of destructive elements like fire, or explosions.

- Speed: Your Stand’s movement speed, whether attacking, dodging, or whatever else. In a ‘straight fight’, Speed can often prove useful.

- Durability: Your Stand’s ability to withstand attacks, from Stands or otherwise. Keeping a high-Durability Stand close is an easy way to stay safe.

- Precision: Your Stand’s accuracy. It can be used for pinpoint attacks, projectiles, observation, and fine movements.

- Range: The distance your Stand can move from you, and the distance that it is capable of affecting with its abilities.

- Potential: Your capacity to learn new abilities, Techniques, and more. Putting points into it in the early game can be a good way to mix things up later on.

Stands do not have to be humanoid spirits; they can be bound to objects, restricted to effects, or many more. This is something to be considered carefully, though, as there are advantages and disadvantages to all of the options available. Some examples of non-standard Stands are:

- Hermit Purple, a Stand that manifests as purple, thorned vines. - The Fool, a Stand that creates a physical form using sand. - Anubis, a Stand that is bound to a sword, and possesses anyone who holds it. - Khnum, a formless Stand that allows its User to change his appearance. - Harvest, a Stand that is made up of a swarm of small insectoids. - Black Sabbath, an Automatic Stand, meaning that it acts independently of the User,

and does not share damage or knowledge with them. A few things about non-standard Stands are important to note:

- If a Stand is not bound to a character’s body, it will not be able to reflexively defend them while Close.

- Stands that are bound to objects will be visible to non-Stand Users, though a Stand can take the form of an object while still being bound to its User). Additionally, in some cases, the object may outlast the original User, and the Stand along with it.

Automatic Stands are different again. These Stands are not bound to anything, and as such, it and its User will not share any awareness, nor injuries. This doesn’t mean the Stand is likely to work against or separately from its user. As they are born from the User’s desires, they often reflect those, and will likely work towards them. Players wanting to use Automatic Stands should exercise caution. As much as it would render a character immune to shared damage, an Automatic Stand would be treated as a separate character entirely. It’s important to note that an autonomous Stand is not necessarily an Automatic one. Stands may be ‘set loose’ to act on their own accord, but still linked to the User. A character can obtain a Stand in a few ways. As they’re generally a reflection of a strong spirit, some people may be born with one, while others gain one as a result of dedication to a craft or practice. A Stand can also be obtained through ‘artificial’ means: the Stand Arrow, a mysterious artefact which grants a Stand to the individual stabbed by it, and the Devil’s Palm, a large meteor crash site that gives a Stand to those who pass through it.

Building Your Stand Designing a character works on a point system in this RPG. You begin with 60 build points, which are used to buy Stats, Abilities, Techniques, Goals, and Impulses. The 60 point limit can be adjusted, depending on how powerful or weak the players may want, but 60 points should give players enough to express their creativity, while leaving room for growth. Stats all cost the same amount of points, and you must have at least one rank in every Stat. The values of each rank are as follows:

- None: 0 points - E: 1 point - D: 3 points - C: 5 points - B: 10 points - A: 15 points

Every Stand will have at least one ‘Ability’. These are intentionally undefined, as Stand abilities have taken a wide variety of forms over the series, and players are permitted to be as creative as they like. GMs have final approval, and they set the cost of abilities as well. This will typically be 5-15 points, but particularly powerful abilities can be 20 points.

Example : Organic Magnetization - Knock on Wood’s primary Ability is the power to selectively magnetize organic objects, including living beings, plant matter, wood, and more. This power has been given a cost of 10 points.

Many of the Stands used in the series by primary protagonists have simple, widely applicable abilities, like Crazy Diamond’s ability to restore objects to an undamaged State, or Buccellati’s zippers. Additionally, some Stand abilities can conceivably grant themselves additional abilities. Stands have been demonstrated to move between Users, whether as part of their own ability, or under the effects of another Stand. However, these will receive particular attention when it comes to balancing, and may be rejected outright. Though players can use these abilities however they like, Techniques give a player a small bonus for specific uses. For 5 build points, you can record a specific method of utilizing the ability, and receive a +3 to any rolls that utilize it. There is no limit to the amount of these you can have, but they must be based on things your character is capable of with their current abilities. They can include factors outside the Stand itself, like the User, items, or even other Stands.

Example : Magnetic Transmission - Joanna has, over time, learned how to quickly use her Stand’s organic magnetization to magnetize her own body and a nearby object, allowing her to quickly launch herself towards that object.

Players can also have an Evolving Stand, which is a type of Stand that changes forms at critical moments, gaining greater strength, and stronger abilities. These forms are referred to as Acts, and are shown as an attachment to the Stand’s name, e.g. Roadhouse Blues, Act II . For every 15 build points reserved during your initial build, you gain one additional ‘Act’ to build later on. The process of evolving your Stand grants the character one additional Stat rank, and trades one Ability for a more powerful one, as well as a physical redesign. All Acts of a Stand are available to the User, but the Stand must be Withdrawn before a different Act can be used. Once you’ve assigned all of these, the mechanical aspects of your Stand have been completed. Your character sheet will also require a short description of how your Stand manifests. Consider the appearance, the object or body it is bound to, and what advantages different forms may have. You can cap it all off with a name, which is typically a musical reference of some kind.

Building Your Character There’s no real restrictions on what sort of character you play. Stand Users have been old, blind, paraplegic, orangutans, dogs, plants, and even plankton. The character sheet contains an area for you to write a short description of your character, and any limitations or benefits gained from their specific form should be recorded as permanent Conditions. Additionally, depending on the type of character, the rules for Modifiers outlined in the expansion can also help model specifics. In addition to physical qualities, Impulses and Goals allows for your character’s personality to have a meaningful bearing on rolls. When an Impulse or Goal becomes relevant to that character’s situation, they must receive a bonus to any Actions that it would provoke, and a penalty to any Actions that require them to deny it. They come in two varieties:

- Impulses are surface trends, or otherwise noticeable characteristics that describe a part of a character’s personality in a few words. These provide a bonus or penalty whenever an Action taken immediately satisfies or rejects the Impulse. This bonus/penalty is +/- 3 points.

Example : Joanna holds her friendships in high regard, meaning she takes a bonus to any Actions that involve protecting them from harm, or assisting them directly. If they are in danger, Actions that do not immediately protect them take a penalty.

- Goals are specific ambitions, things that are fundamental to a character’s progression. These are often the reason a character has gained their Stand, or might be the result of a significant event in their past. These can be invoked through degrees of separation; the Action will receive a bonus/penalty whenever it can be seen by the character as a distinct stepping stone towards this target, or something that would set them back. +/- 3 points.

Example : Bonnie seeks to bring down the criminal syndicate that left her homeless and bankrupt. She might receive bonuses while encountering members of that syndicate, while dealing with law enforcement trying to keep her from her goals, or pursuing leads. Penalties might occur when trying to retreat from a fight against a Stand User working to protect the head of the syndicate.

Each character receives two Impulses, and one Goal, at no build point cost. Additional Impulses and Goals cost 2 and 5 build points, respectively. Both Impulses and Goals are invoked by either the player or the GM, with the GM having the final decision.

Progression Your initial character building is the last you’ll be seeing of build points. Once the game begins, any progression is managed with the Potential Stat, or Acts. Ranks in this Stat are traded, permanently, in exchange for one of the following boosts. However, certain conditions must be met for this to happen, which vary depending on what you’re attempting to achieve. In order to spend a Rank in Potential, the player must first fail an Action Roll, then spend a Push on a new Action. Before declaring the new Action, the player can choose what to spend their Potential on, and use the result of that for the Push Action. Ranks in Potential are permanently traded. To gain a new Technique, the Technique you’re attempting to record must be used as the Push Action. Once this is done, you can commit the Technique to your character sheet, giving you a +3 bonus to any attempt at using it from now on. To gain a new Ability, one or more ranks in Potential is exchanged for one ability, with the amount of ranks required varying depending on how powerful the ability is. These should relate to the Stand’s theme, while being different enough to create new advantages.

Advancing a Stat is as simple as trading a single rank in Potential for a rank in the Stat chosen. A is still the maximum, however. If a player has elected to take an initial power cut in exchange for gaining an Evolving Stand, then their Stand will be capable of spending one of their stored Acts, in exchange for two Stat points, and replacing an Ability. This occurs under the same circumstances as trading in Potential, in that a Push must be used. When an Act is traded in, the resulting Power and Stat points are chosen by the GM, not the player. This reflects the spontaneous nature of Act-based Stands, and can be used for beginners, or those looking for an extra, character-based challenge.

Example : Roadhouse Blues, a Stand with the ability to travel along any reasonably even surface, has reached a Potential Opportunity. Roadhouse Blues Act II is created, and in addition to bringing his Speed and Power up to B-ranks, it may now travel along any reasonably even surface, regardless of gravity.

Lastly, the mysterious artefact known as the Stand Arrow is capable of granting extraordinary abilities to those who are pierced with it. Those without a Stand will be granted a Stand, if they possess the spiritual strength to survive the process. Those who do have one will find their Stand Abilities developed beyond what might have been thought possible. This is known as a ‘Requiem’ form, and is often quite overpowered, even by JoJo standards, and will almost certainly be reserved for the endgame, if it comes up at all. This form will be noted by the new Stand having ‘Requiem’ appended to its name, e.g . Knock on Wood Requiem .

GM Note : As there are only a few examples of a Stand Arrow being used on a Stand User in the series, it’s recommended that a Requiem form is granted regardless of whether it’s the Stand or User that is

pierced. However, out of the available examples where it was specifically the User that was pierced, the only one that had any results left the Stand visually unchanged, granted it an additional, very powerful ability, and made his hair look kind of greasy. As this could be considered a prototypical attempt at the

concept of Requiem Stands, it may be best to ignore it for the sake of eliminating unnecessary complications.